A visit to Uruguay (part 1)

I recently took a weekend trip to Colonia, Uruguay - a historic city that is a Unesco World Heritage site. Colonia is only a one-hour boat ride from Buenos Aires, and there is a strong historic relationship between the cities: both of them were founded in the 1700s as smuggling centers to siphon off some of the vast wealth flowing out of the silver trade in Bolivia and Peru. Control of Colonia passed back and forth between the Spanish and the Portuguese, and (charmingly) both styles of traditional architecture exist side by side in the city. In the picture below, the Spanish built the house on the left (flat roof, adobe) while the Portuguese built the one on the right (pitched tile roof, stone).

Here are some other views of the old town...

I love all the slanting walls and doorways in this picture...

The old square, with the church towers peeking up over the trees...

View of the Rio de la Plata from the old town...

There is a beautiful ramble along the river...

Most of the old buildings are still heated with wood. Here you can see the daily delivery...

A fun thing to do in Uruguay is to try and spot a Cachila. "Cachilas" are antique cars such as Studebakers and Model A Fords that are still in active use. Uruguay was a prosperous country in the first half of the 20th century and during that time people imported cars from Europe and the US. In the long economic decline that has followed, many Uruguayans have been forced to maintain and use what in other circumstances would have been museum pieces. Here is a cachila on the street in Colonia...

Such a sleepy little town. I enjoyed this view of 3 cats all piled up for a nap...

A final view of the lovely old town...